The earnings-driven rally continued on Thursday following better-than-expected results from Pepsico and UnitedHealth. The shares of UnitedHealth topped the consensus estimates for Q1 revenue and earnings and ended the session with gains near 4.0%.
On the employment side, the weekly jobless claims data showed the lowest level since March 2020 and indicated an accelerated improvement in labour market conditions.
Consumer spending rose nearly 10% from the previous month due to a combination of government stimuli and strengthening labor market conditions.